Mysuru: The impasse over allotment of alternate land to grow betel  leaf to farmers, who had lost their land when the then City Improvement Trust Board (CITB) acquired their lands to develop Jayanagar- Thonachikoppal Layout in 1949, ended today.

Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) allotted 5 guntas of land to 85 of the 245 beneficiaries (betel leaf growers) at Sewage Farm in Vidyaranyapuram here, through a lottery system held in MCC Office  with a condition that they use the land to grow betel leaves (veelyadele) only.

A total of 245 beneficiaries were identified through various Government Orders issued during the period 1977-79. The government also directed that the beneficiaries be allotted 5 guntas of land at Sewage Farm in the city. Since the MCC had used an area of 98 blocks to dispose of garbage in 2004-05, there will be shortage of land for 98 betel leaves growers.

The allotment letters of 5 gunta of land each to the 85 beneficiaries were distributed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at a function held in city on Sept. 29 this year.

Today, the lands/blocks were allotted to the 85 selected beneficiaries through a lottery held at the MCC Council Hall. The entire process of allotting 5 guntas of land to the farmers who lost their lands was held in a transparent manner in the presence of MCC Commissioner  Ashaad-Ur-Rahman Shariff and other officials, thus ending  more than 40 years impasse over the allocation of land to the beneficiaries. The title deeds will be issued soon.

G.S. Somashekar, Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) MCC, Nagaraj, Executive Engineer, other officials of MCC and the beneficiaries were present.